Method and apparatus for configuring bi-directional channel in wireless communication system

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for configuring a bi-directional channel in a wireless communication system is provided. A user equipment (UE) configures the bi-directional channel which is used for either an uplink (UL) channel or a sidelink (SL) channel, and transmits data via at least one of the UL channel or the SL channel. The bi-direction channel may be used for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for configuring a bi-directional channel in a wireless communication system.

Related Art

3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long-term evolution (LTE) is a technology for enabling high-speed packet communications. Many schemes have been proposed for the LTE objective including those that aim to reduce user and provider costs, improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity. The 3GPP LTE requires reduced cost per bit, increased service availability, flexible use of a frequency band, a simple structure, an open interface, and adequate power consumption of a terminal as an upper-level requirement.

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication is the passing of information from a vehicle to any entity that may affect the vehicle, and vice versa. This information exchange can be used for a host of safety, mobility and environmental applications to include driver assistance and vehicle safety, speed adaptation and warning, emergency response, safety, traveler information, navigation, traffic operations and demand management, personal navigation, commercial fleet planning and payment transactions. There is significant societal benefit and commercial value to delivering safety, mobility and convenience applications that rely on V2X.

V2X applications span a host of media. Basic elements of V2X are the vehicle and its connectivity to any other intelligent transportation system (ITS) station. Therefore, V2X includes transceivers located on vehicles, mounted on the roadside infrastructure, in aftermarket devices, or within handheld devices. V2X communication may occur in some of contexts of vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) (or other vulnerable road users) communication, or vehicle to home communication (V2H).

The wide variety of use cases cannot only be met with a short-range radio solution working in a peer to peer manner Some V2X use cases require infrastructure assistance for communication, and some use cases can make use of smaller scale infrastructure such as small cells or methods such as relaying. For this, the 3GPP has a role to play in defining, examining and acting on the variety of use cases to support the V2X effort. 3GPP infrastructure and 3GPP proximity-based services (ProSe) can act in support and enhancement to dedicated short range communications (DSRC) to fulfill many use cases. There is also the opportunity for 3GPP to investigate modifications and enhancements to ProSe to meet or improve the performance of short range communications in terms of spectral efficiency, effective range, bandwidth and throughput, error resiliency, and improved latency.

Accordingly, various methods for performing V2X communication based on 3GPP technology needs to be defined.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for configuring a bi-directional channel in a wireless communication system. The present invention provides a method and apparatus for transmitting data via at least one of an uplink channel or a sidelink channel by configuring the bi-directional channel. The present invention provides a method and apparatus for configuring a bi-directional channel for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.

In an aspect, a method for configuring, by a user equipment (UE), a bi-directional channel in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes configuring the bi-directional channel which is used for either an uplink (UL) channel or a sidelink (SL) channel, and transmitting data via at least one of the UL channel or the SL channel.

In another aspect, a user equipment (UE) is provided. The UE includes a memory, a transceiver, and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver, and configured to configure the bi-directional channel which is used for either an uplink (UL) channel or a sidelink (SL) channel, and control the transceiver to transmit data via at least one of the UL channel or the SL channel

Bi-directional channel for V2X communication can be configured effectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows LTE system architecture.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of architecture of a typical E-UTRAN and a typical EPC.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a user plane protocol stack of an LTE system.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a control plane protocol stack of an LTE system.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a physical channel structure.

FIG. 6 shows mapping between UL transport channels and UL physical channels.

FIG. 7 shows mapping between UL logical channels and UL transport channels.

FIG. 8 shows mapping between SL transport channels and SL physical channels.

FIG. 9 shows mapping between SL logical channels and SL transport channels for ProSe direct communication.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a scenario of V2X communication.

FIG. 11 shows another example of a scenario of V2X communication.

FIG. 12 shows another example of a scenario of V2X communication.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a bi-directional channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows another example of a bi-directional channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows another example of a bi-directional channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows another example of a bi-directional channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 shows a method for configuring a bi-directional channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 shows a method for transmitting a buffer status report for a bi-directional transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows a method for transmitting data for a bi-directional transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 shows a method for performing bi-directional transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 shows a method for performing bi-directional transmission according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 shows a method for performing bi-directional transmission according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 shows a method for performing bi-directional transmission according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 shows a wireless communication system to implement an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The technology described below can be used in various wireless communication systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), etc. The CDMA can be implemented with a radio technology such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) or CDMA-2000. The TDMA can be implemented with a radio technology such as global system for mobile communications (GSM)/general packet ratio service (GPRS)/enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE). The OFDMA can be implemented with a radio technology such as institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802-20, evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), etc. IEEE 802.16m is an evolution of IEEE 802.16e, and provides backward compatibility with an IEEE 802.16-based system. The UTRA is a part of a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) is a part of an evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using the E-UTRA. The 3GPP LTE uses the OFDMA in downlink and uses the SC-FDMA in uplink. LTE-advance (LTE-A) is an evolution of the 3GPP LTE.

For clarity, the following description will focus on the LTE-A. However, technical features of the present invention are not limited thereto.

FIG. 1 shows LTE system architecture. The communication network is widely deployed to provide a variety of communication services such as voice over internet protocol (VoIP) through IMS and packet data.

Referring to FIG. 1, the LTE system architecture includes one or more user equipment (UE; 10), an evolved-UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) and an evolved packet core (EPC). The UE 10 refers to a communication equipment carried by a user. The UE 10 may be fixed or mobile, and may be referred to as another terminology, such as a mobile station (MS), a user terminal (UT), a subscriber station (SS), a wireless device, etc.

The E-UTRAN includes one or more evolved node-B (eNB) 20, and a plurality of UEs may be located in one cell. The eNB 20 provides an end point of a control plane and a user plane to the UE 10. The eNB 20 is generally a fixed station that communicates with the UE 10 and may be referred to as another terminology, such as a base station (BS), an access point, etc. One eNB 20 may be deployed per cell.

Hereinafter, a downlink (DL) denotes communication from the eNB 20 to the UE 10, and an uplink (UL) denotes communication from the UE 10 to the eNB 20. In the DL, a transmitter may be a part of the eNB 20, and a receiver may be a part of the UE 10. In the UL, the transmitter may be a part of the UE 10, and the receiver may be a part of the eNB 20.

The EPC includes a mobility management entity (MME) and a system architecture evolution (SAE) gateway (S-GW). The MME/S-GW 30 may be positioned at the end of the network and connected to an external network. For clarity, MME/S-GW 30 will be referred to herein simply as a “gateway,” but it is understood that this entity includes both the MME and S-GW.

The MME provides various functions including non-access stratum (NAS) signaling to eNBs 20, NAS signaling security, access stratum (AS) security control, inter core network (CN) node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks, idle mode UE reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmission), tracking area list management (for UE in idle and active mode), packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) and S-GW selection, MME selection for handovers with MME change, serving GPRS support node (SGSN) selection for handovers to 2G or 3G 3GPP access networks, roaming, authentication, bearer management functions including dedicated bearer establishment, support for public warning system (PWS) (which includes earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) and commercial mobile alert system (CMAS)) message transmission. The S-GW host provides assorted functions including per-user based packet filtering (by e.g., deep packet inspection), lawful interception, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation, transport level packet marking in the DL, UL and DL service level charging, gating and rate enforcement, DL rate enforcement based on access point name aggregate maximum bit rate (APN-AMBR).

Interfaces for transmitting user traffic or control traffic may be used. The UE 10 is connected to the eNB 20 via a Uu interface. The eNBs 20 are connected to each other via an X2 interface. Neighboring eNBs may have a meshed network structure that has the X2 interface. A plurality of nodes may be connected between the eNB 20 and the gateway 30 via an S1 interface.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of architecture of a typical E-UTRAN and a typical EPC. Referring to FIG. 2, the eNB 20 may perform functions of selection for gateway 30, routing toward the gateway 30 during a radio resource control (RRC) activation, scheduling and transmitting of paging messages, scheduling and transmitting of broadcast channel (BCH) information, dynamic allocation of resources to the UEs 10 in both UL and DL, configuration and provisioning of eNB measurements, radio bearer control, radio admission control (RAC), and connection mobility control in LTE_ACTIVE state. In the EPC, and as noted above, gateway 30 may perform functions of paging origination, LTE_IDLE state management, ciphering of the user plane, SAE bearer control, and ciphering and integrity protection of NAS signaling.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a user plane protocol stack of an LTE system. FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a control plane protocol stack of an LTE system. Layers of a radio interface protocol between the UE and the E-UTRAN may be classified into a first layer (L1), a second layer (L2), and a third layer (L3) based on the lower three layers of the open system interconnection (OSI) model that is well-known in the communication system.

A physical (PHY) layer belongs to the L1. The PHY layer provides a higher layer with an information transfer service through a physical channel The PHY layer is connected to a medium access control (MAC) layer, which is a higher layer of the PHY layer, through a transport channel. A physical channel is mapped to the transport channel. Data between the MAC layer and the PHY layer is transferred through the transport channel Between different PHY layers, i.e. between a PHY layer of a transmission side and a PHY layer of a reception side, data is transferred via the physical channel.

A MAC layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer belong to the L2. The MAC layer provides services to the RLC layer, which is a higher layer of the MAC layer, via a logical channel The MAC layer provides data transfer services on logical channels. The RLC layer supports the transmission of data with reliability. Meanwhile, a function of the RLC layer may be implemented with a functional block inside the MAC layer. In this case, the RLC layer may not exist. The PDCP layer provides a function of header compression function that reduces unnecessary control information such that data being transmitted by employing IP packets, such as IPv4 or IPv6, can be efficiently transmitted over a radio interface that has a relatively small bandwidth.

A radio resource control (RRC) layer belongs to the L3. The RLC layer is located at the lowest portion of the L3, and is only defined in the control plane. The RRC layer controls logical channels, transport channels, and physical channels in relation to the configuration, reconfiguration, and release of radio bearers (RBs). The RB signifies a service provided the L2 for data transmission between the UE and E-UTRAN.

Referring to FIG. 3, the RLC and MAC layers (terminated in the eNB on the network side) may perform functions such as scheduling, automatic repeat request (ARQ), and hybrid ARQ (HARQ). The PDCP layer (terminated in the eNB on the network side) may perform the user plane functions such as header compression, integrity protection, and ciphering.

Referring to FIG. 4, the RLC and MAC layers (terminated in the eNB on the network side) may perform the same functions for the control plane. The RRC layer (terminated in the eNB on the network side) may perform functions such as broadcasting, paging, RRC connection management, RB control, mobility functions, and UE measurement reporting and controlling. The NAS control protocol (terminated in the MME of gateway on the network side) may perform functions such as a SAE bearer management, authentication, LTE_IDLE mobility handling, paging origination in LTE_IDLE, and security control for the signaling between the gateway and UE.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a physical channel structure. A physical channel transfers signaling and data between PHY layer of the UE and eNB with a radio resource. A physical channel consists of a plurality of subframes in time domain and a plurality of subcarriers in frequency domain. One subframe, which is 1 ms, consists of a plurality of symbols in the time domain. Specific symbol(s) of the subframe, such as the first symbol of the subframe, may be used for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The PDCCH carries dynamic allocated resources, such as a physical resource block (PRB) and modulation and coding scheme (MCS).

A DL transport channel includes a broadcast channel (BCH) used for transmitting system information, a paging channel (PCH) used for paging a UE, a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) used for transmitting user traffic or control signals, a multicast channel (MCH) used for multicast or broadcast service transmission. The DL-SCH supports HARQ, dynamic link adaptation by varying the modulation, coding and transmit power, and both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation. The DL-SCH also may enable broadcast in the entire cell and the use of beamforming.

FIG. 6 shows mapping between UL transport channels and UL physical channels. Referring to FIG. 6, an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) may be mapped to a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The UL-SCH may be characterized by:

-   -   possibility to use beamforming;     -   support for dynamic link adaptation by varying the transmit         power and potentially modulation and coding;     -   support for HARQ;     -   support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation.

Further, a random access channel (RACH) may be mapped to a physical random access channel (PRACH). The RACH may be characterized by:

-   -   limited control information;     -   collision risk.

The logical channels are classified into control channels for transferring control plane information and traffic channels for transferring user plane information, according to a type of transmitted information. That is, a set of logical channel types is defined for different data transfer services offered by the MAC layer.

The control channels are used for transfer of control plane information only. The control channels provided by the MAC layer include a broadcast control channel (BCCH), a paging control channel (PCCH), a common control channel (CCCH), a multicast control channel (MCCH) and a dedicated control channel (DCCH). The BCCH is a downlink channel for broadcasting system control information. The PCCH is a downlink channel that transfers paging information and is used when the network does not know the location cell of a UE. The CCCH is used by UEs having no RRC connection with the network. The MCCH is a point-to-multipoint downlink channel used for transmitting multimedia broadcast multicast services (MBMS) control information from the network to a UE. The DCCH is a point-to-point channel used by UEs having an RRC connection that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and the network.

Traffic channels are used for the transfer of user plane information only. The traffic channels provided by the MAC layer include a dedicated traffic channel (DTCH) and a multicast traffic channel (MTCH). The DTCH is a point-to-point channel, dedicated to one UE for the transfer of user information and can exist in both uplink and downlink. The MTCH is a point-to-multipoint downlink channel for transmitting traffic data from the network to the UE.

FIG. 7 shows mapping between UL logical channels and UL transport channels. Referring to FIG. 7, the CCCH may be mapped to the UL-SCH. The DCCH may be mapped to the UL-SCH. The DTCH may be mapped to the UL-SCH.

An RRC state indicates whether an RRC layer of the UE is logically connected to an RRC layer of the E-UTRAN. The RRC state may be divided into two different states such as an RRC idle state (RRC_IDLE) and an RRC connected state (RRC_CONNECTED). In RRC_IDLE, the UE may receive broadcasts of system information and paging information while the UE specifies a discontinuous reception (DRX) configured by NAS, and the UE has been allocated an identification (ID) which uniquely identifies the UE in a tracking area and may perform public land mobile network (PLMN) selection and cell re-selection. Also, in RRC_IDLE, no RRC context is stored in the eNB.

In RRC_CONNECTED, the UE has an E-UTRAN RRC connection and a context in the E-UTRAN, such that transmitting and/or receiving data to/from the eNB becomes possible. Also, the UE can report channel quality information and feedback information to the eNB. In RRC_CONNECTED, the E-UTRAN knows the cell to which the UE belongs. Therefore, the network can transmit and/or receive data to/from UE, the network can control mobility (handover and inter-radio access technologies (RAT) cell change order to GSM EDGE radio access network (GERAN) with network assisted cell change (NACC)) of the UE, and the network can perform cell measurements for a neighboring cell.

In RRC_IDLE, the UE specifies the paging DRX cycle. Specifically, the UE monitors a paging signal at a specific paging occasion of every UE specific paging DRX cycle. The paging occasion is a time interval during which a paging signal is transmitted. The UE has its own paging occasion. A paging message is transmitted over all cells belonging to the same tracking area. If the UE moves from one tracking area (TA) to another TA, the UE will send a tracking area update (TAU) message to the network to update its location.

Proximity-based services (ProSe) are described. “ProSe” may be used mixed with “D2D”. ProSe direct communication means a communication between two or more UEs in proximity that are ProSe-enabled, by means of user plane transmission using E-UTRA technology via a path not traversing any network node. ProSe-enabled UE means a UE that supports ProSe requirements and associated procedures. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, a ProSe-enabled UE refers both to a non-public safety UE and a public safety UE. ProSe-enabled public safety UE means a ProSe-enabled UE that also supports ProSe procedures and capabilities specific to public safety. ProSe-enabled non-public safety UE means a UE that supports ProSe procedures and but not capabilities specific to public safety. ProSe direct discovery means a procedure employed by a ProSe-enabled UE to discover other ProSe-enabled UEs in its vicinity by using only the capabilities of the two UEs with 3GPP LTE rel-12 technology. EPC-level ProSe discovery means a process by which the EPC determines the proximity of two ProSe-enabled UEs and informs them of their proximity ProSe UE identity (ID) is a unique identity allocated by evolved packet system (EPS) which identifies the ProSe enabled UE. ProSe application ID is an identity identifying application related information for the ProSe enabled UE.

Sidelink (SL) is UE to UE interface for ProSe direct communication and ProSe direct discovery. The sidelink corresponds to the PC5 interface. Sidelink comprises ProSe direct discovery and ProSe direct communication between UEs. Sidelink uses UL resources and physical channel structure similar to UL transmissions. Sidelink transmission uses the same basic transmission scheme as the UL transmission scheme. However, sidelink is limited to single cluster transmissions for all the sidelink physical channels. Further, sidelink uses a 1 symbol gap at the end of each sidelink sub-frame.

FIG. 8 shows mapping between SL transport channels and SL physical channels. Referring to FIG. 8, a SL discovery channel (SL-DCH) may be mapped to a physical SL discovery channel (PSDCH), which carries ProSe direct discovery message from the UE. The SL-DCH is characterized by:

-   -   fixed size, pre-defined format periodic broadcast transmission;     -   support for both UE autonomous resource selection and scheduled         resource allocation by eNB;     -   collision risk due to support of UE autonomous resource         selection; no collision when UE is allocated dedicated resources         by the eNB.

Further, a SL shared channel (SL-SCH) may be mapped to a physical SL shared channel (PSSCH), which carries data from a UE for ProSe direct communication. The SL-SCH is characterized by:

-   -   support for broadcast transmission;     -   support for both UE autonomous resource selection and scheduled         resource allocation by eNB;     -   collision risk due to support of UE autonomous resource         selection; no collision when UE is allocated dedicated resources         by the eNB;     -   support for HARQ combining, but no support for HARQ feedback;     -   support for dynamic link adaptation by varying the transmit         power, modulation and coding.

Further, a SL broadcast channel (SL-BCH) may be mapped to a physical SL broadcast channel (PSBCH), which carries system and synchronization related information transmitted from the UE. The SL-BCH is characterized by pre-defined transport format.

A physical SL control channel (PSCCH) carries control from a UE for ProSe direct communication. The PSCCH is mapped to the SL control resources. The PSCCH indicates resource and other transmission parameters used by a UE for PSSCH.

FIG. 9 shows mapping between SL logical channels and SL transport channels for ProSe direct communication. Referring to FIG. 9, a SL broadcast control channel (SBCCH) may be mapped to the SL-BCH. The SBCCH is a SL channel for broadcasting SL system information from one UE to other UE(s). This channel is used only by ProSe direct communication capable UEs. Further, a SL traffic channel (STCH) may be mapped to the SL-SCH. The STCH is a point-to-multipoint channel, for transfer of user information from one UE to other UEs. This channel is used only by ProSe direct communication capable UEs.

The buffer status reporting (BSR) procedure is used to provide the serving eNB with information about the amount of data available for transmission in the UL buffers associated with the MAC entity. RRC controls BSR reporting by configuring the three timers periodicBSR-Timer, retxBSR-Timer and logicalChannelSR-ProhibitTimer and by, for each logical channel, optionally signalling logicalChannelGroup which allocates the logical channel to an LCG.

BSR MAC control elements (CE) consist of either:

-   -   Short BSR and truncated BSR format: one LCG ID field and one         corresponding buffer size field; or     -   Long BSR format: four buffer size fields, corresponding to LCG         IDs #0 through #3.

The BSR formats are identified by MAC PDU subheaders with LCIDs.

The fields LCG ID and buffer size are defined as follow:

-   -   LCG ID: The logical channel group ID field identifies the group         of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported. The         length of the field is 2 bits;     -   Buffer size: The buffer size field identifies the total amount         of data available across all logical channels of a logical         channel group after all MAC PDUs for the transmit time interval         (TTI) have been built. The amount of data is indicated in number         of bytes. It shall include all data that is available for         transmission in the RLC layer and in the PDCP layer. The size of         the RLC and MAC headers are not considered in the buffer size         computation. The length of this field is 6 bits.

The sidelink BSR procedure is used to provide the serving eNB with information about the amount of SL data available for transmission in the SL buffers of the MAC entity. RRC controls BSR reporting for the sidelink by configuring the two timers periodic-BSR-TimerSL and retx-BSR-TimerSL. Each sidelink logical channel is allocated to an LCG with LCGID set to “11” and belongs to a ProSe destination.

Sidelink BSR MAC CE consists of:

-   -   Sidelink BSR and tuncated Sidelink BSR: one group index field,         one LCG ID field and one corresponding buffer size field per         reported target group.

The sidelink BSR is identified by MAC PDU subheaders with LCID. It has a variable size.

For each included group, the fields are defined as follow:

-   -   Group index: The group index field identifies the ProSe         destination. The length of this field is 4 bits. The value is         set to the index of the destination reported in         destinationInfoList;     -   LCG ID: The logical channel group ID field identifies the group         of logical channel(s) which buffer status is being reported. The         length of the field is 2 bits and it is set to “11”;     -   Buffer Size: The buffer size field identifies the total amount         of data available across all logical channels of a ProSe         destination after all MAC PDUs for the TTI have been built. The         amount of data is indicated in number of bytes. It shall include         all data that is available for transmission in the RLC layer and         in the PDCP layer. The size of the RLC and MAC headers are not         considered in the buffer size computation. The length of this         field is 6 bits.     -   R: Reserved bit, set to “0”.

The vehicular communication, referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X), contains three different types, which are vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications. These three types of V2X can use “co-operative awareness” to provide more intelligent services for end-users. This means that transport entities, such as vehicles, roadside infrastructure, and pedestrians, can collect knowledge of their local environment (e.g. information received from other vehicles or sensor equipment in proximity) to process and share that knowledge in order to provide more intelligent services, such as cooperative collision warning or autonomous driving.

V2X service is a type of communication service that involves a transmitting or receiving UE using V2V application via 3GPP transport. Based on the other party involved in the communication, it can be further divided into V2V service, V2I service, V2P service. V2V service is a type of V2X service, where both parties of the communication are UEs using V2V application. V2I service is a type of V2X Service, where one party is a UE and the other party is a road side unit (RSU) both using V2I application. The RSU is an entity supporting V2I service that can transmit to, and receive from a UE using V2I application. RSU is implemented in an eNB or a stationary UE. V2P service is a type of V2X service, where both parties of the communication are UEs using V2P application.

For V2V, E-UTRAN allows such UEs that are in proximity of each other to exchange V2V-related information using E-UTRA(N) when permission, authorization and proximity criteria are fulfilled. The proximity criteria can be configured by the mobile network operator (MNO). However, UEs supporting V2V service can exchange such information when served by or not served by E-UTRAN which supports V2X Service. The UE supporting V2V applications transmits application layer information (e.g. about its location, dynamics, and attributes as part of the V2V service). The V2V payload must be flexible in order to accommodate different information contents, and the information can be transmitted periodically according to a configuration provided by the MNO. V2V is predominantly broadcast-based. V2V includes the exchange of V2V-related application information between distinct UEs directly and/or, due to the limited direct communication range of V2V, the exchange of V2V-related application information between distinct UEs via infrastructure supporting V2X service, e.g., RSU, application server, etc.

For V2I, the UE supporting V2I applications sends application layer information to RSU. RSU sends application layer information to a group of UEs or a UE supporting V2I applications. Vehicle-to-network (V2N) is also introduced where one party is a UE and the other party is a serving entity, both supporting V2N applications and communicating with each other via LTE network.

For V2P, E-UTRAN allows such UEs that are in proximity of each other to exchange V2P-related information using E-UTRAN when permission, authorization and proximity criteria are fulfilled. The proximity criteria can be configured by the MNO. However, UEs supporting V2P service can exchange such information even when not served by E-UTRAN which supports V2X Service. The UE supporting V2P applications transmits application layer information. Such information can be broadcast by a vehicle with UE supporting V2X service (e.g., warning to pedestrian), and/or by a pedestrian with UE supporting V2X service (e.g., warning to vehicle). V2P includes the exchange of V2P-related application information between distinct UEs (one for vehicle and the other for pedestrian) directly and/or, due to the limited direct communication range of V2P, the exchange of V2P-related application information between distinct UEs via infrastructure supporting V2X service, e.g., RSU, application server, etc.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a scenario of V2X communication. Referring to FIG. 10, vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 are communicated with each other directly via PC5 interface.

FIG. 11 shows another example of a scenario of V2X communication. Referring to FIG. 11, vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 are communicated with each other indirectly via the network. The network node may be one of an eNB, a new entity for V2X communication, a new gateway for V2X communication, a RSU, etc. The network node may not be the MME or S-GW.

FIG. 12 shows another example of a scenario of V2X communication. Referring to FIG. 12, vehicle 1 broadcasts data, and the RSU receives the broadcast data. The RSU and vehicle 2 are communicated with each other indirectly via the network. The network node may be one of an eNB, a new entity for V2X communication, a new gateway for V2X communication, a RSU, etc. The network node may not be the MME or S-GW.

As described above, in 3GPP rel-12, ProSe allows a UE to discover another UE within an authorized range either directly or with the network assistance. The discovery process is under network control, and provides additional service related information to the discoverer UE. In addition, for public safety use, the UEs within the allowed range are able to directly communicate with each other using group based communication. Further in 3GPP rel-13, there are plans for further enhancements to ProSe to support restricted discovery and targeted discovery, in which the user is able to control who can discover him/her, and to operate in a mode to only announce upon a request. The one-to-one communication and relay support are also considered to be added for direct communication.

All these features can find a good application in the V2X use cases. However, in 3GPP rel-12 and rel-13, the ProSe has been designed for use with pedestrian mobility speed. It would therefore not be able to be used directly for V2X. For example, the physical channel assumptions may not be suitable for direct discovery and communication in vehicle speed, and UE to network signaling delays would limit its usefulness for V2X Enhancements are necessary to adapt the ProSe system to support V2X.

When the current ProSe is used for V2X communication, the following problems may occur.

(1) In urban area, the number of vehicles is expected to be large. In such dense scenario, there may be many vehicles that transmit road safety messages on SL, so that SL resources may be highly utilized and collision probability will be normally high. Such problem will cause unstable intelligent transportation system (ITS) service to vehicles. In this sense, offloading ITS traffic from SL to another direction may be beneficial.

(2) V2V and V2I communication may normally happen in a local area. V2V and V2I communication may not aim at a specific user. Rather, this communication may be open to all neighboring vehicles in a local area. In addition, such communication will require lower latency. Thus, fast broadcast mechanism may be needed.

In order to solve the problem described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a new type of channel or transmission for V2X communication may be proposed. Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a new type of BSR MAC CE for V2X communication may be proposed. Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a new type of radio network temporary identity (RNTI) for V2X communication may be proposed.

Hereinafter, the bi-direction transmission may be included in the new kind of transmission for V2X communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. The bi-directional transmission may consist of UL transmission and SL transmission. In the bi-directional transmission, traffic may be transmitted in either UL or in SL. Or, in the bi-directional transmission, transmission from a UE to another UE may be performed in either UL or in SL. The bi-directional transmission may be performed via the bi-directional channel. The bi-direction channel may be included in the new kind of channel for V2X communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. The bi-direction channel may be one channel which can be used as either UL channel or SL channel. In the bi-direction channel, traffic can be offloaded easily from SL channel to UL channel, or vice versa. The bi-directional channel can be divided into SL channel and UL channel at one point in L1/L2, i.e. PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY layer.

Further, the connectionless transmission may be included in the new kind of transmission for V2X communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. The connectionless transmission may be a specific type of UE-to-UE transmission via network. In connectionless transmission, data/message/signaling may not be routed to the S-GW, but it may be transferred from one or more UEs to one or more other UEs via network. The network node may be one of an eNB, a new entity for V2X communication, a new gateway for V2X communication, a RSU, etc. The network node may not be the MME or S-GW. Data/message/signaling may be specific to V2X communication, i.e. communication between vehicles or communication between a vehicle and other type of device. The connectionless transmission may be efficient for V2X communication, because connectionless transmission would not require connection establishment/management between the network and vehicles.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a bi-directional channel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 13, the application layer may provide V2X communication. From the application layer to the PDCP layer, the bi-directional channel may be configured. The bi-directional channel may be used for either UL channel or SL channel There may be only one PDCP entity for the bi-directional channel. At the PDCP layer, the bi-directional channel may be divided into UL channel and SL channel Accordingly, there may be two logical channels, two transports channel and two physical channels for UL and SL, respectively.

FIG. 14 shows another example of a bi-directional channel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 14, the application layer may provide V2X communication. From the application layer to the RLC layer, the bi-directional channel may be configured. The bi-directional channel may be used for either UL channel or SL channel. There may be only one PDCP entity and one RLC entity for the bi-directional channel At the RLC layer, the bi-directional channel may be divided into UL channel and SL channel Accordingly, there may be two logical channels, two transports channel and two physical channels for UL and SL, respectively.

FIG. 15 shows another example of a bi-directional channel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 15, the application layer may provide V2X communication. From the application layer to the MAC layer, the bi-directional channel may be configured. The bi-directional channel may be used for either UL channel or SL channel. There may be only one PDCP entity, one RLC entity and one MAC entity for the bi-directional channel At the MAC layer, the bi-directional channel may be divided into UL channel and SL channel. Accordingly, there may be two transports channel and two physical channels for UL and SL, respectively.

FIG. 16 shows another example of a bi-directional channel according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 15, the application layer may provide V2X communication. From the application layer to the PHY layer, the bi-directional channel may be configured. The bi-directional channel may be used for either UL channel or SL channel. There may be only one PDCP entity, one RLC entity and one MAC entity for the bi-directional channel At the PHY layer, the bi-directional channel may be divided into UL channel and SL channel. Accordingly, there may be two physical channels for UL and SL, respectively.

FIG. 17 shows a method for configuring a bi-directional channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step S100, the UE configures the bi-directional channel which is used for either an UL channel or a SL channel The bi-directional channel may be divided into the UL channel and the SL channel at a PDCP layer. Or, the bi-directional channel is divided into the UL channel and the SL channel at a RLC layer. Or, the bi-directional channel is divided into the UL channel and the SL channel at a MAC layer. In this case, the bi-directional channel may correspond to a specific type of logical channel Or, the bi-directional channel may be divided into the UL channel and the SL channel at a physical layer. In this case, the bi-directional channel may correspond to a specific type of transport channel.

In step S110, the UE transmits data via at least one of the UL channel or the SL channel. The UE may be a vehicle. The data may be specific to vehicular communication between vehicles or between a vehicle and other type of device. The other type of device may be one of an eNB, a new entity for the vehicular communication, a new gateway for the vehicular communication, or a RSU. The data may be transmitted via the UL channel based on a UL grant. The data may be transmitted via the SL channel based on a SL grant. The data may be transmitted with a digital signature or encryption.

FIG. 18 shows a method for transmitting a buffer status report for a bi-directional transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step S200, the UE triggers a buffer status report for a bi-directional transmission. The buffer status report for the bi-directional transmission may inform the network about amount of data available for the bi-directional transmission. The buffer status report for the bi-directional transmission may be transmitted via a newly defined BSR MAC CE for the bi-directional transmission. The UE may be a vehicle. The bi-directional transmission may consist of an UL transmission and a SL transmission. The bi-directional transmission may be specific to vehicular communication between vehicles or between a vehicle and other type of device.

In step S200, the UE transmits the buffer status report for the bi-directional transmission or a scheduling request for the bi-directional transmission to a network. The scheduling request for the bi-directional transmission may indicate a specific type of logical channel for the bi-directional transmission. The scheduling request for the bi-directional transmission may be transmitted via a specific code point on a PUCCH. Or, the scheduling request for the bi-directional transmission is transmitted via a specific code point on a new uplink channel. Or, the scheduling request for the bi-directional transmission is transmitted via a specific random access preamble ID dedicated to the scheduling request for the bi-directional transmission. The network corresponds to one of an eNB, a new entity for the vehicular communication, a new gateway for the vehicular communication, or a RSU. The UE may receive a UL grant after transmitting the scheduling request to the network. The UE may receive either a UL grant or a SL grant after transmitting the buffer status report to the network.

FIG. 19 shows a method for transmitting data for a bi-directional transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step S300, the UE receives a grant including a RNTI for the bi-directional transmission from a network. The grant may be received via a PDCCH or enhanced PDCCH (ePDCCH). The grant may be one of an UL grant or a SL grant. Further, the UE may transmit a buffer status report for the bi-directional transmission or a scheduling request for the bi-directional transmission to a network, before receiving the grant. The network may correspond to one of an eNB, a new entity for the vehicular communication, a new gateway for the vehicular communication, or a RSU. The UE may be a vehicle.

Upon detecting the RNTI for the bi-directional transmission, in step S310, the UE transmit data via at least one of an UL channel or a SL channel. The data may be specific to vehicular communication between vehicles or between a vehicle and other type of device. The other type of device may be one of an eNB, a new entity for the vehicular communication, a new gateway for the vehicular communication, or a RSU. The data may be transmitted with a digital signature or encryption.

Based on the above description according to embodiments of the present invention, various methods for performing bi-directional transmission according to embodiments of the present invention are described below.

Hereinafter, the bi-directional transmission may consist of UL transmission and SL transmission. In the bi-directional transmission, traffic may be transmitted in either UL or in SL. Or, in the bi-directional transmission, transmission from a UE to another UE may be performed in either UL or in SL. The bi-directional transmission may be performed via the bi-directional channel described by referring to FIG. 13 to FIG. 16. Further, the connectionless transmission may be a specific type of UE-to-UE transmission via network. In connectionless transmission, data/message/signaling may not be routed to the S-GW, but it may be transferred from one or more UEs to one or more other UEs via network. The network or network node may be one of an eNB, a new entity for V2X communication, a new gateway for V2X communication, a RSU, etc. The network node may not be the MME or S-GW. The data/message/signaling may be specific to V2X communication, i.e. communication between vehicles or communication between a vehicle and other type of device.

FIG. 20 shows a method for performing bi-directional transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, transmission direction between UL and SL may be selected under a resource grant. According to this embodiment, when data/message/signaling is available for bi-directional transmission, the UE may transmit a scheduling request indicating bi-directional transmission or a buffer status report indicating bi-direction transmission, in order to receive a grant for UL resource or SL resource. Then, the UE may perform UL transmission or SL transmission based on the received grant.

In step S400, the UE detects available data/message/signaling for bi-directional transmission. There may be a specific type of logical channels for bi-directional transmission. In this case, the UE may detect available data for this type of logical channels. Alternatively, there may be a specific type of bi-directional channel for bi-directional transmission by referring to FIG. 13 to FIG. 16.

Upon detecting or upon triggering of a buffer status report for bi-directional transmission, in step S410, the UE may transmit a scheduling request. The scheduling request may indicate bi-directional transmission or the specific type of bi-directional channel. The scheduling request may be indicated to the network by a specific code point in PUCCH or a new UL channel. Or, the scheduling request may be indicated to the network by a specific random access preamble ID.

In step S420, the UE may receive UL grant after transmitting the scheduling request.

In step S430, the UE transmits a buffer status report to the network. The buffer status report may inform the network about the amount of data available for bi-directional transmission. The buffer status report may be one of normal BSR MAC CE, ProSe BSR MAC CE, and a new type of BSR MAC CE for bi-directional transmission which indicates bi-directional transmission.

In step S440, the UE receives either UL grant or SL grant on PDCCH/ePDCCH. The grant may be received on PDCCH/ePDCCH which includes a specific RNTI specific to bi-directional transmission. Or, the grant may include a specific RNTI specific to the connectionless transmission (CL-RNTI).

In step S450, depending on the received grant, the UE may perform either UL transmission or SL transmission. If the SL grant is received, the UE may perform SL transmission to transmit the data/message/signaling. If the UL grant is received, the UE may perform UL transmission to transmit the data/message/signaling. The data/message/signaling may be transmitted with a digital signature or encryption. The receiving side may reconstruct the data/message/signaling with the digital signature or decrypt the data/message/signaling.

FIG. 21 shows a method for performing bi-directional transmission according to another embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission may be performed based on a random access. According to this embodiment, when data/message/signaling is available for bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission, the UE may transmit a random access preamble dedicated to bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. Upon receiving the random access response, the UE may perform UL transmission and/or SL transmission indicating bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. The UE may be in RRC_IDLE or RRC_CONNECTED.

In step S500, the UE receives control information on bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission at a cell. The control information may indicate that the cell supports bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. The control information may indicate transmission direction, if this transmission corresponds to bi-directional transmission by which the UE can transmit a packet in UL or in SL. The control information may include UL resource pool and/or SL resource pool, used for bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. The control information may include a set of random access preamble IDs and time resource for this set of preambles.

In step S510, the UE detects data available for bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. There may be a specific type of logical channels for bi-directional transmission. Alternatively, there may be a specific type of bi-directional channel for bi-directional transmission by referring to FIG. 13 to FIG. 16. There may be a specific logical/transport channel for connectionless transmission, which is called connectionless channel

In step S520, the UE transmits a random access preamble ID dedicated to bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission.

In step S530, the UE receives a random access response including UL grant or SL grant. The grant may be received on PDCCH/ePDCCH which includes a specific RNTI specific to bi-directional transmission. Or, the grant may include a CL-RNTI.

In step S540, upon receiving the SL grant, the UE may perform SL transmission indicating bi-directional transmission and/or SL connectionless transmission to transmit the data/message/signaling. In step S550, upon receiving the uplink grant, the UE may perform UL transmission indicating bi-directional transmission and/or UL connectionless transmission to transmit the data/message/signaling. The data/message/signaling may be transmitted with a digital signature or encryption.

Upon receiving data/message/signaling by UL connectionless transmission, in step S560, a network node (e.g. eNB) determines whether or not to relay the received data/message/signaling to one or more other UE(s) in the cell or in a specific area. The network node may receive similar data/message/signaling from many UEs in the cell from the same UL connectionless channel The network node may detect duplicated data/message/signaling, so that the network node may not relay all the received ones. Rather, the network node may select one or some of the received ones for relaying. Alternatively, the network node may re-construct a new data/message/signaling based on the received ones, and transmit the re-constructed data/message/signaling to one or more other UEs in the cell or in a specific area.

In step S570, the network node may perform DL transmission either for relaying the received data/message/signaling or for transmitting new data/message/signaling re-constructed based on the received data/message/signaling.

FIG. 22 shows a method for performing bi-directional transmission according to another embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission may be performed. According to this embodiment, when data/message/signaling is available for bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission, the UE may perform bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission of MAC PDU indicating bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission, possibly by selecting a radio resource from a set of contention based resources which can be shared by UEs performing bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. The UE may transmit a scheduling request on PUCCH which is dedicated to bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission, before bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. Upon receiving resource grant for bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission, the UE may perform bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission based on the received resource grant. The UE may be in RRC_CONNECTED.

In step S600, the UE receives control information on bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission at a cell. The control information may indicate that the cell supports bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. The control information may indicate transmission direction, if this transmission corresponds to bi-directional transmission by which the UE can transmit a packet in UL or in SL. The control information may include UL resource pool and/or SL resource pool, used for bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. The control information may include a set of contention based resources in time and frequency.

In step S610, the UE detects data available for bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. There may be a specific type of logical channels for bi-directional transmission. Alternatively, there may be a specific type of bi-directional channel for bi-directional transmission by referring to FIG. 13 to FIG. 16. There may be a specific logical/transport channel for connectionless transmission, which is called connectionless channel.

In step S620, the UE may optionally transmit a scheduling request on PUCCH which is dedicated to bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission.

In step S630, the UE may optionally receive UL grant or SL grant for bi-directional transmission and/or connectionless transmission. The grant may be received on PDCCH/ePDCCH which includes a specific RNTI specific to bi-directional transmission. Or, the grant may include a CL-RNTI.

In step S640, upon receiving the SL grant, the UE may select a radio resource from the set of contention based resources and performs SL transmission of MAC PDU indicating bi-directional transmission and/or SL connectionless transmission by using the selected resource in order to transmit the data/message/signaling. The LCID field in the header of the MAC PDU may include a specific value indicating bi-directional transmission and/or SL connectionless transmission. In step S650, upon receiving the UL grant, the UE may select a radio resource from the set of contention based resources and performs UL transmission of MAC PDU indicating bi-directional transmission and/or UL connectionless transmission by using the selected resource in order to transmit the data/message/signaling. The LCID field in the header of the MAC PDU may include a specific value indicating bi-directional transmission and/or UL connectionless transmission. The data/message/signaling may be transmitted with a digital signature or encryption.

Upon receiving data/message/signaling by UL connectionless transmission, in step S660, a network node (e.g. eNB) determines whether or not to relay the received data/message/signaling to one or more other UE(s) in the cell or in a specific area. The network node may receive similar data/message/signaling from many UEs in the cell from the same UL connectionless channel The network node may detect duplicated data/message/signaling, so that the network node may not relay all the received ones. Rather, the network node may select one or some of the received ones for relaying. Alternatively, the network node may re-construct a new data/message/signaling based on the received ones, and transmit the re-constructed data/message/signaling to one or more other UEs in the cell or in a specific area.

In step S670, the network node may perform DL transmission either for relaying the received data/message/signaling or for transmitting new data/message/signaling re-constructed based on the received data/message/signaling.

FIG. 23 shows a method for performing bi-directional transmission according to another embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, connectionless bi-directional transmission on SL-SCH or SL-DCH may be performed. According to this embodiment, when data/message/signaling is available for connectionless bi-directional transmission, the UE may transmit UL data on a SL channel such as SL-SCH or SL-DCH under network control.

In step S700, the UE receives control information on connectionless bi-directional transmission at a cell. The control information may indicate that the cell supports connectionless transmission. The control information may indicate transmission direction, if this transmission corresponds to bi-directional transmission by which the UE can transmit a packet in UL or in SL. The control information may include UL resource pool for connectionless transmission. The control information may include a set of SL TX resources which can be also used for UL transmission towards the network.

In step S710, the UE detects data available for connectionless bi-directional transmission. There may be a specific type of logical/transport channels for connectionless bi-directional transmission, which is called connectionless channel Alternatively, there may be a specific type of bi-directional channel for UL connectionless bi-directional transmission by referring to FIG. 13 to FIG. 16.

In step S720, the UE may transmit a scheduling request on PUCCH which is dedicated to connectionless bi-directional transmission. The UE may further transmit a buffer status report for connectionless bi-directional transmission.

In step S730, the UE may receive SL grant or SL TX resources for UL connectionless bi-directional transmission towards the network (possibly as well as SL transmission towards another UE(s)). The SL grant or the SL TX resource may include resources for transmission of scheduling assignment and SL-SCH. Or, the SL grant or the SL TX resource may include resources for transmission of SL-DCH. Or, the SL grant or the SL TX resource may include resources for transmission of SL-BCH. The SL grant may be received on PDCCH/ePDCCH which includes a specific RNTI specific to bi-directional transmission. Or, the grant may include a CL-RNTI.

Upon receiving the SL grant or the SL TX resource, in step S740, the UE may perform transmission of scheduling assignment that schedules transmission of the data/message/signaling towards the network. Another UE may also receive this scheduling assignment. The LCID field in the header of the MAC PDU may include a specific value indicating UL connectionless bi-directional transmission.

Upon receiving the SL grant or the SL TX resource, in step S750, the UE may perform UL transmission of MAC PDU via one of SL channels (such as SL-SCH, SL-DCH, SL-BCH) based on the SA in order to transmit the data/message/signaling to the network. Another UE may also receive this MAC PDU on the SL channel The LCID field in the header of the MAC PDU may include a specific value indicating UL connectionless bi-directional transmission. The data/message/signaling may be transmitted with a digital signature or encryption.

Upon receiving data/message/signaling by UL connectionless transmission, in step S760, a network node (e.g. eNB) determines whether or not to relay the received data/message/signaling to one or more other UE(s) in the cell or in a specific area. The network node may receive similar data/message/signaling from many UEs in the cell from the same UL connectionless channel The network node may detect duplicated data/message/signaling, so that the network node may not relay all the received ones. Rather, the network node may select one or some of the received ones for relaying. Alternatively, the network node may re-construct a new data/message/signaling based on the received ones, and transmit the re-constructed data/message/signaling to one or more other UEs in the cell or in a specific area.

In step S770, the network node may perform DL transmission either for relaying the received data/message/signaling or for transmitting new data/message/signaling re-constructed based on the received data/message/signaling.

FIG. 24 shows a wireless communication system to implement an embodiment of the present invention.

A network node 800 may include a processor 810, a memory 820 and a transceiver 830. The network node 800 may be one of an eNB, a new entity for V2X communication, a new gateway for V2X communication, a RSU, etc. The processor 810 may be configured to implement proposed functions, procedures and/or methods described in this description. Layers of the radio interface protocol may be implemented in the processor 810. The memory 820 is operatively coupled with the processor 810 and stores a variety of information to operate the processor 810. The transceiver 830 is operatively coupled with the processor 810, and transmits and/or receives a radio signal.

A UE 900 may include a processor 910, a memory 920 and a transceiver 930. The UE 900 may be a vehicle. The processor 910 may be configured to implement proposed functions, procedures and/or methods described in this description. Layers of the radio interface protocol may be implemented in the processor 910. The memory 920 is operatively coupled with the processor 910 and stores a variety of information to operate the processor 910. The transceiver 930 is operatively coupled with the processor 910, and transmits and/or receives a radio signal.

The processors 810, 910 may include application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipset, logic circuit and/or data processing device. The memories 820, 920 may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, memory card, storage medium and/or other storage device. The transceivers 830, 930 may include baseband circuitry to process radio frequency signals. When the embodiments are implemented in software, the techniques described herein can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The modules can be stored in memories 820, 920 and executed by processors 810, 910. The memories 820, 920 can be implemented within the processors 810, 910 or external to the processors 810, 910 in which case those can be communicatively coupled to the processors 810, 910 via various means as is known in the art.

In view of the exemplary systems described herein, methodologies that may be implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject matter have been described with reference to several flow diagrams. While for purposed of simplicity, the methodologies are shown and described as a series of steps or blocks, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the steps or blocks, as some steps may occur in different orders or concurrently with other steps from what is depicted and described herein. Moreover, one skilled in the art would understand that the steps illustrated in the flow diagram are not exclusive and other steps may be included or one or more of the steps in the example flow diagram may be deleted without affecting the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for transmitting data in a wireless communication system, the method performed by a user equipment (UE) and comprising: detecting that the data is available for a bi-directional transmission that includes an uplink (UL) transmission and a sidelink (SL) transmission; configuring a bi-directional channel for the bi-directional transmission, the bi-directional channel including an UL channel for the UL transmission and an SL channel for the SL transmission; selecting the UL channel or the SL channel; and transmitting the data via the selected UL channel or SL channel, wherein the UL channel is separated from the SL channel at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer or a media access control (MAC) layer of the UE, and wherein there is a single PDCP layer and a single RLC layer for both the UL transmission and the SL transmission.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE is a vehicle.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is related to vehicular communication between vehicles or between a vehicle and another type of device.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the another type of device is an evolved NodeB (eNB), a new entity for the vehicular communication, a new gateway for the vehicular communication, or a road side unit.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is transmitted via the selected UL channel based on a UL grant.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is transmitted via the selected SL channel based on an SL grant.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is transmitted with a digital signature or encryption.
 8. A user equipment (UE) for transmitting data in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising: a memory configured to store information; a transceiver configured to transmit and receive information; and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver, the processor configured to: detect that data is available for a bi-directional transmission that includes an uplink (UL) transmission and a sidelink (SL) transmission; configure a bi-directional channel for the bi-directional transmission, the bi-directional channel including an UL channel for the UL transmission and an SL channel for the SL transmission; select the UL channel or the SL channel; and control the transceiver to transmit the data via the selected UL channel or SL channel, wherein the UL channel is separated from the SL channel at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer or a media access control (MAC) layer of the UE, and wherein there is a single PDCP layer and a single RLC layer for both the UL transmission and the SL transmission.
 9. The UE of claim 8, wherein the UE is a vehicle.
 10. The UE of claim 8, wherein the data is related to vehicular communication between vehicles or between a vehicle and another type of device.
 11. The UE of claim 10, wherein the another type of device is an evolved NodeB (eNB), a new entity for the vehicular communication, a new gateway for the vehicular communication, or a road side unit.
 12. The UE of claim 8, wherein the data is transmitted via the selected UL channel based on a UL grant.
 13. The UE of claim 8, wherein the data is transmitted via the selected SL channel based on an SL grant.
 14. The UE of claim 8, wherein the data is transmitted with a digital signature or encryption. 